World news briefs

July 2, 2013 12:01 AM

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns speaks during a press conference at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 1, 2013. Burns denounced Monday that Hezbollah for its involvement in Syria's civil war and said the Lebanese militant group's actions place the future of Lebanon at risk. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)AP

July 2, 2013 12:01 AM

U.S. official denounces Hezbollah's actions

BEIRUT -- A senior U.S. official denounced Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war Monday and accused the Shiite militant group of putting the interests of Iran and Syria above those of the Lebanese people.

The comments by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns were the first by a high-ranking visiting U.S. official since Hezbollah helped propel Assad's troops to victory in June in the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border.

Syrian troops have been building on the victory to move against rebel-held areas elsewhere in the central province of Homs and in the north.

Vatican bank director, deputy resign

ROME -- The director of the embattled Vatican bank and his deputy resigned Monday after the latest developments in a broadening finance scandal that has already landed one Vatican monsignor in prison and added urgency to Pope Francis' reform efforts.

The Vatican said in a statement that Paolo Cipriani and his deputy, Massimo Tulli, stepped down "in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See."

Cipriani, along with the bank's then-president, was placed under investigation by Rome prosecutors in 2010 for alleged violations of Italy's anti-money-laundering norms. Neither has been charged.

Guantanamo prisoners fight force-feeding

MIAMI -- Prisoners at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are asking a federal court to halt the force-feeding that is intended to prevent prisoners from starving to death during a hunger strike that has dragged on for more than four months.

A motion filed on behalf of four prisoners argued that the military's practice of using a nasogastric tube to involuntarily feed striking prisoners with a liquid nutrient mix is inhumane and violates medical ethics. They also said it will prevent them from observing the traditional fast during the upcoming Muslim holy period of Ramadan, depriving them of the right to practice their religion as guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions.